A Tall and Small Collection | Soren

Soren and the Fierce Feline

It was painstaking, but Soren was beginning to feel more secure about his family's living quarters. He had moved them further into the barren halls between the walls past the rooms that smelled of litter and mothballs, but not as far as the human home he borrowed from. It made him uneasy to live so close to humans who he knew were going to be present. Even if it was a little colder, the halls of the empty rooms were far safer for his two younger brothers to speak freely. He had also managed to secure three days' worth of food from picking up scraps of bread and a box of slightly stale raisins from behind one of the cabinets.

It also kept Brady busy. He was so paranoid that the cat would find its way into the passages between the walls that he spent most of his time guarding Soren's brothers. This left all of the borrowing to Soren; and he was relieved that was the case. Brady's incompetence had already forced one move, and he didn't want another blunder so close to winter. It also gave Soren a chance to observe the humans in the other rooms.

He realized, after only two weeks of observation, that the rooms were sectioned off into things called "apartments." It explained why the rooms belonged to some humans and not others. Still, it was easy to get turned around in the walls. It was Soren's youngest brother, Rey, who came up with an idea to help them navigate. Rey suggested using thread to guide the way to different rooms. It would consume a lot of supplies, but using different threads to guide the way to different rooms was the smartest thing to do. As long as they held onto the line, they couldn't be lost.

In order to do this, Soren would need thread – and lots of it. Based off of his observations, there was only one place he could go – and he didn't like it. Soren prepared his bag, his hooks, and his needle. There were two outlets which led into a side room filled with paper scraps, scissors, and, above all, thread. Turns out the smelly cat lady worked with her nimble fingers with the thread to make clothes and crafts.

It was early in the morning when Soren prepared to set out. His brothers clung to his bag and begged him to take them along.

"We'll be good and listen! Won't we, Rey?" prompted Dorian. His younger brother nodded vigorously.

"Yes! We'll be the best! Please let us come with you," pleaded Rey. Soren smiled and ruffled his brothers' hair playfully. It was long enough now that it covered the tops of his fingers completely. Unlike himself, his brothers took after his mother, kind and smooth faces round and ever smiling. Their eyes, pale blue and hair a light sandy brown, reminded him every day of the piece he wished he had. Soren took more after his father, Aaron. His features were thinner and flexible. His borrowing kept him strong; deceptively so.

"Not today bobbins," he muttered. His brothers' eyes twinkled at the mention of their mother's affectionate nickname for them. "You have to stay put and guard the fort you never named." His playful rebuke was enough to quiet his brothers. With that, he gave a simple salute and headed into the labyrinth of walls before him.

The smell was overwhelming. Soren took a moment and breathed deeply to calm himself, but the stench only put him on edge. He knew he was fast. He knew he was flexible and could out-maneuver anything thrown or swung his way. Still, he didn't want to test his abilities if he didn't have to.

Soren listened carefully, refusing to breathe until he heard some sign of life. If he was right, the elderly human woman would be rustling in the kitchen in an hour or so with the cat begging at her heels. He had maybe two hours before needing to remain absolutely silent and undetected. Barely enough time and entirely risky.

He pushed the faceplate off of the electrical cords and stepped out into the human world.

It was always so vast and dizzying, the world of the humans. The tables and chairs towered above his head. The desks and trinkets were massive and often too bulky for a borrower. It took true ingenuity to even maneuver even the smallest of the human's things for borrowing; but Soren had a clever mother and a determined father. They taught him many tricks, one of which was to find the piece which he and his siblings were called after so affectionately.